UFC News: Ben Askren could face a legendary fighter in his next fight

What's the story?

While a section of the fanbase admires Ben Askren's 'Funky' personality, there were many fight fans who loved seeing the former Bellator Champion suffer his first professional loss against Jorge Masvidal. The barbaric nature of his loss made it even more satisfying for some of his de

So what's next for the polarizing figure? Askren could be in for a fight against UFC veteran Damian Maia, as the ace grapplers planted the seeds of a potential clash on Twitter.

In case you didn't know...

Askren tasted his first pro MMA loss at UFC 239 after Jorge Masvidal knocked him out with a brutal knee in just five seconds. The fastest knockout in UFC history was inarguably the biggest highlight of the card that was headlined by a UFC Light Heavyweight title fight between Jon Jones and Thiago Santos.

The UFC 239 fight was Askren's second fight in the UFC. He earned a come-from-behind technical submission victory against Robbie Lawler in his UFC debut at UFC 235. The Funky One is currently 1-1 in the UFC and is ready for his next fight, which could very well be against Damian Maia.

After losing three fights between July 2017 to May 2018, the 41-year-old Damian Maia has experienced a resurgence this year. The Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt is on a two-fight win streak, with wins against Lyman Good and Anthony Rocco Martin putting him back in contention for fights against top-tier opponents.

The heart of the matter

During a Q&A session, Maia was asked about the biggest grappling challenge he had faced in the career. Maia claimed that he may have not come across his toughest test yet before sending out a tentative challenge to Ben Askren.

Askren replied that he would be all in for a fight against Maia on October 26th, which is the date scheduled for UFC's return to Singapore.

That’s tough, so many different and good challenges. Maybe the biggest challenge is yet to come in @Benaskren if we do compete?

— Demian Maia (@demianmaia) August 3, 2019

I’m in Oct 26 Demian. Are you in also? https://t.co/9AKWgsOc8Q

— Ben Askren (@Benaskren) August 3, 2019

Maia replied and sounded optimistic about the fight coming to fruition.

If that’s good for the @ufc , and for you as well, I would be happy to compete with you on that date. It is a intriguing challenge and I’m up for it! As a grappler it’s the kind of challenge that motivates me. It’s truly up to them.

— Demian Maia (@demianmaia) August 3, 2019

It seems we a have civilized, non-trashy verbal agreement in place between the two fighters and all that's needed now is for Dana White to make it official.

What's next?

Askren and Maia are two of the best grapplers in the Welterweight division and a fight between the two is the most sensible from a match-making perspective. Stylistically, it can be a technically advanced contest that has the potential to be a headliner.